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Plant a pharmacy in your yard
Long before Tegrin, the heartbreak of psoriasis was likely battled with a healthy coating of sycamore milk or evening primrose oil, rather than the coal tar-based ointment made famous by its 1960s advertisement. A steaming cup of tea brewed from dried dandelions leaves eased bloating, and dried lavender placed under a pillow relieved stress. Gardener Pam Levin doesn't suffer the aforementioned woes, but she could find relief in a bloom-heavy circle behind her Nunica, Mich., home. Levin tends a medicine wheel garden filled wish Ecinachea, evening primrose and goldenrod to create a sacred space for healing tranquillity. If it worked for American Indians, she reasoned, why not give it a try? "We built it to add to our sacred space, to add to the beauty," Levin said of the 4-year-old garden with a peace pole in the center.
Enzyme from tea could build cancer buffer
Results of an early phase clinical study released in August by the Arizona Cancer Center indicate that green tea may help prevent cancer in humans.
The research shows that in some people, high doses of the green tea component epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) increase the activity of a detoxification enzyme called glutathione S-transferase.
"This particular detoxification enzyme is responsible for getting rid of toxic chemicals - carcinogens," said Dr. Sherry Chow, research associate professor at the Cancer Center and principal investigator for the study.
Prior studies on animals have demonstrated green tea's detoxification properties, Chow said.
In the new study, 42 people were recruited and asked to refrain from consuming tea, she said.
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